The Legend of the Five Warriors

A thousand years ago, society was on the brink of collapse. Three centuries of violent anarchy had left the Three Systems in ruins. The technological, societal, and artistic achievements of a great culture were laid to waste. History and law were reduced to a handful of customs and taboos. A great spiritual awakening devolved into small shrines and temples that were more likely to house superstition than faith.

Another few decades of destruction, maybe as few as ten years, and the Three Systems would have ceased to exist. There would have been nothing left but nine worlds regressed to the primitive time before stellar transport. The last flicker of enlightenment was on the verge of being extinguished.

History pivoted on the point of a blade. Would the balance tip to Order or Anarchy, societal advancement or annihilation? Versions vary and each canon prefers its perspective. All concur that what tipped the balance from Anarchy to Order was a man’s desire for a woman. Socraide Omsted (The First Warrior) became enamored of Adelaide Warleader, Jonathan Metricelli’s chief retainer and possibly his consort. Eager to detach Adelaide from Jonathan (The Fourth Warrior), Socraide engaged his ally, Mulan Tsao (The Third Warrior), to negotiate on his behalf.

How the next series of events unfolded is shrouded in the mists of time, but the result is certain. Not only did Socraide and Mulan negotiate with Jonathan, they included Sinead (The Fifth Warrior). At that eventful meeting, a contract was formed. The four warlords would cease to use military conquest to fulfill their ambitions. Instead, they would advance their designs through negotiation and treaty. It was Mulan Tsao, the Third Warrior, who provided the framework for the Code of Engagement derived from the advanced society of the ancients.

When faced with the united power of his four rivals, Rimon Ben Claude (The Second Warrior) agreed to sign the Code of Engagement with the caveat that the other four agree to binding Governing Protocols. Together, the Code of Engagement and Governing Protocols provided the cornerstone for the Order of the Five Warriors that has endured for the last millennia. ~ excerpt from The Origins of the Five Warriors, a scholarly treatise